Friday, April 11th, 2014: a big day in the history of Honolulu. On this day, Honolulu finally got its first craft brewpub. Sure, we had Aloha Beer before, and Vice Inferno, and even Brew Moon way back when. But each of those places played it safe. They tried to create brewpubs that would appeal to a cliched concept of "local" tastes. And what do locals like, according to those cliches? Tacky nightclubs and green-bottle beers. So that's what these brewpubs tried to give us: colored lights and black-painted ceilings and beer that tasted closer to mass-market brews than to real craft ale.
None of those brewpubs succeeded. Two of them didn't even survive a single year.
Honolulu Beerworks, on the other hand, is trying for something different. It's not a watered-down-for-"local"-tastes type of place. It's a craft brewpub, a real one. From the oak-barrels flanking the entrance, to the center-stage setting for the bar, to the gleaming stainless-steel brewery in the back, Beerworks is following a vision previously unseen in Honolulu. Because of that, it's got more in common with the brewpubs thriving on the mainland than it does with those other, short-lived local breweries.
That difference in vision applies to the beer, too. I drank a sample of every beer currently on tap, and went back for a couple pints of my favorites, and I can tell you with full confidence that Honolulu Beerworks is real beer. Not every beer won me over, but there were a few that satisfied my beer-cravings like no other local beer has managed to do.
The standout for me, by far, was the South Shore Stout. When I tipped back my glass and took my first gulp, it nearly brought tears of joy to my eyes. Big-bodied, malty, rich with caramel, and packing a notable alcohol punch. The ethyl-caramel combo made me recall bourbon-barrel aged beers I've had before, though of course this brewery hasn't had the time to age beer in barrels, yet. It also brought to mind the Russian Imperial Stout style, but Russian Imperial Stouts, in my experience, tend to have such a high alcohol level that the ethyl just burns your palate (unless they've been aged for a long time, and it's hard to find one that's been given enough time to mellow). This beer is a smoother, lower-alcohol drink than those. It didn't feature much of the smoky, roasted flavor that I favor in certain stouts, but I loved it anyway. Awesome beer!
I also really liked the Pia Mahi' Ai Saison. Slightly hazy, pale gold in color, with a good foamy head. The funk was in effect, but it was paired with an interesting sweetness that I'm not used to seeing side by side with that farmhouse flavor. A good, refreshing beer. I'd gladly go back for more.
There were a few disappointments, too, and since I value balanced journalism I feel obligated to mention them. The Kakaako Kolsch felt a bit thin and bitter. The Rye Not Pale Ale was so slight with its rye component that I could barely even notice it, and it poured completely flat with absolutely no head or carbonation (maybe they forgot to attach that keg to the CO2 system in advance, so it never got a chance to condition?). And it looked like they used plenty of PVC piping in their brewing system, which seems like a really bad idea to me.
But all in all, I'm excited about this place. Very excited. Take a look at their current line-up in the picture above, and you'll see that they've got two farmhouse beers and a rye. Beers featuring those flavors are relatively new to the American scene, definitely not as proven-to-sell as typical pale ales, IPAs, and lagers. You certainly wouldn't have found anything like them on tap at any of the other Honolulu breweries.
Which brings me back to my opening thoughts. This is the first brewery in Honolulu that isn't focusing their approach on appeasing that cliched concept of the "local" masses. Honolulu Beerworks seems to be trying to appeal to local beer geeks instead. (And there were plenty of them in attendance on the opening night--lots of Stone Brewing shirts, and even some other-than-west-coast gear like Three Floyds and Half Acre.) It's a gamble that no one else has tried here before. Personally, I'd love to be able to go back for more of that South Shore Stout, so I'm hoping it's a gamble that pays off.
Update (4/20/14): I sent an email to Geoff, owner of Beerworks, when I put this post up. He read the post and responded. The key things I took from his email, which I think should be posted, are these:
1) He confirmed that Honolulu Beerworks is "definitely not trying to appeal to the mass market green beers". They plan on rotating styles and should have barrel-aged beers available soon.
2) He's planning on upping the rye quotient in the Rye Not, and he says he's worked out the carbonation issues present in the first few batches.
3) (most important point) The PVC pipes I saw are actually just external cores for double-insulated glycol piping. The beer never comes in contact with PVC.
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